I owned and used an Arcam Alpha 8 for a couple of years, and had mixed opinions.
This amp is very warm sounding,and as my CD player at the time was somewhat forward and harsh, so the Arcam was a welcome partner to it, but it really lacked slam and pace to it.
Alternatively there was quite ... Read review
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A review by smileandnod on Arcam Alpha 8 October 11th, 2004
Author's product rating:
Sound Quality
Good
Ease of Use
Average
Look & Design
Satisfactory
Range of Features
Excellent
Value for Money
Good
Advantages:
Warm and smooth sounding
Disadvantages:
Lacking in pace and drive
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I owned and used an Arcam Alpha 8 for a couple of years, and had mixed opinions. This amp is very warm sounding,and as my CD player at the time was somewhat forward and harsh, so the Arcam was a welcome partner to it, but it really lacked slam and pace to it.
Alternatively there was quite a good soundstage, and although it was a little two dimensional, it was very broad, often extending beyond the boundaries of the speakers. Detail was a little hazy, but this meant the amp could be listened to all day, without any of the fatigue commonly associated with modern solid state amplification.
One very useful feature was the fixed gain switch on the back. This allowed the volume to be controlled by an external source, for instance an AV decoder. This means that when using the amp as part of an AV setup, you don't have to worry about setting the volume up correctly or anything. Just switch the input selector to AV and away you go.
Adding an 8P helped a lot with the problems of drive and pace, but ultimately this amp is not going to set your world on fire if you want to listen to dance or rock music. What it will give you though is hour after hour of relaxed and unobtrusive musical enjoyment.
Advantages: Quality 'Arcam' sound - full, powerful. Remote control, phono stage, twin speaker outputs, gold-plated connections. Disadvantages: Soon to be discontinued model, remote only controls volume, perhaps lacking detail compared to 'high end' amps
...I recently bought an Arcam Alhpa 8R to replace my Alpha One.
The remote control is the first most noticeable addition - it's cute (controls just volume up, down and mute) and not having to get up to change the volume is a definite plus.
Inside an uprated power supply and beefier transformer ((50W) you notice - the amp is certainly heavier) make for a very likeable sound. I didn't think it could make that much difference over the Alpha One, but the bass is heavier and faster and stereo imaging and detailed seems improved also. Generally the sound is more alive. It brings back that "Oh my God!" feeling when you first move to a separates system.
Other benefits include quality durable gold-plated connections, two sets of speaker outputs (not that I use them, but useful for mutli-rooms setups or bi-wiring), a 'processor' option that sets...
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